At the opening ceremony for @COP24 today, with representatives from all over the world to set out a course of action on climate change. Here with Joyce Murray, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government of Canada pic.twitter.com/Guhl1zR7jw— Richard Bruton (@RichardbrutonTD) December 3, 2018

The statement provides an overview of climate change policy adopted across government to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to adapt to the effects of climate change.

Mr Bruton said the Government aims to make Ireland a “leader” in climate change policy.

“This information will be important as we develop our all of government plan to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change,” he said.

“While there is much to commend in the past year in terms of progress, we need to do more if we are to achieve our targets.”

The Government said it has committed almost €22bn to climate-related investment in the new National Development Plan.

Some 22 of 106 committed actions, which cover the five-year period of the National Mitigation Plan, have been completed so far.

However, political rivals said the Government is not going far enough and accused the policies of being short-sighted.

“Vision is still lacking,” said Sinn Fein’s spokesman on climate action Brian Stanley.

“Offshore wind, biogas, biomass and solar are resources we can develop.

“It will take joined-up thinking to utilise these.

“For example, planning reform for offshore projects, alternative crops and practice for agriculture, and a transformation of the transport network, but this Government has not moved in this space yet.

“This Government is not thinking of the global problem nor acting locally, nationally developing the wide sources of energy we need and applying clear sectoral targets.”

The report comes weeks after Ireland did not sign a letter sent to the European Commission earlier this month by environment ministers from 10 states.

The letter called on the commission to support a target to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050.

Signed by ministers from Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, it also called on the commission to propose a more ambitious 2030 target.